NEWS RELEASE

Inaugural Lecture of UCSB Cold War Center to Discuss History and Legacy of United States-Soviet Union Conflict

April 15, 2003

(Santa Barbara, Calif.)  Even though there was not a single battle fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Cold War remains one of the most significant and influential turning points in world history, one whose legacy can still be felt today.

Odd Arne Westad, a professor of Cold War history at the London School of Economics, will discuss "Cold War: The Origins of the Present" at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the inaugural lecture of UCSB's new Center for Cold War Studies.

The lecture is free and open to the public and will be held in the McCune Conference Room (Room 6020) of UCSB's Humanities and Social Sciences Building.

Preceding Westad's lecture will be a ceremony honoring a new exchange program between the Center and the London School.

In addition to his role as Director of the Cold War Studies Program at the London School of Economics, Westad also teaches international history of East Asia. He has written or edited 10 books on contemporary history and international affairs, most recently "Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1945-1950."

The Center for Cold War Studies was formerly known as the Cold War History Group, which was founded in 1994 by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa and Fredrik Logevall, professors of history at UCSB. Its mission is to promote the discussion of a broad array of topics related to the study of the Cold War. In addition to an annual graduate student conference, the Center sponsors a variety of events including guest lectures and graduate student workshops.